Firms tap into user knowledge to learn about the users' needs. While users have been recognized as a valuable source of knowledge for innovation, few studies have investigated how their knowledge is integrated into innovation processes in the context of complex products and systems (CoPS). The purpose of this study is to reveal the practices of CoPS manufacturers to facilitate user knowledge utilization for innovation. We investigate two case companies, a medical device manufacturer and an aircraft manufacturer, and report on seven managerial practices for utilizing user knowledge. We adopt the absorptive capacity model in structuring our findings and elaborate three of the model's sub-capabilities (recognition of the value of user knowledge, acquisition of user knowledge, and assimilation/transformation of user knowledge) by proposing that each is associated with a distinct managerial goal and related practices: (1) Sensitizing the organization to the innovation potential of user knowledge, (2) identifying and gaining access to suitable user knowledge, and (3) analyzing and interpreting user knowledge and integrating it into product development. Our study contributes to the innovation management literature by analyzing the capabilities required to utilize user knowledge throughout the CoPS innovation process. * Both authors contributed equally to this study.

This study explores the applicability of usability design processes in the development of a complex medical device in order to enhance the marketability and user acceptance of such. In healthcare, risk mitigation and prevention of potential use errors are the prevailing topics that need to be addressed throughout the development processes of medical devices. However, it is also acknowledged that medical device manufacturers ought to go beyond the mere functional and safety-related aspects of the device-to-be since potential customers also consult usability testing results before purchasing such systems. Yet, it remains unclear how and at what development stage manufacturers include the user perspective in their design iterations in order to enhance the system’s usability. Through action research, this study investigates the approach towards product usability applied throughout the development process of a medical device manufacturer. Interdisciplinary usability workshops were conducted, involving designers and application specialists from within the company that represent future users of the device. These so-called user proxies are able to provide the input from a user perspective at several stages of the design process. It was found that device usability is considered as a crucial topic in order to detect and mitigate use errors as early as possible. Including user proxies in the development process is beneficial to receive feedback from internal professionals that come closest to future users of the system. However, it is challenging to translate user proxies’ insights directly into the development process due to the system’s complexity and technical constraints. The study presents an outline of how to make the usability aspects fit into current development processes in order to increase user acceptance. It contributes to academia and practice alike as a starting point to further investigate how to integrate and standardize usability design processes throughout the development of medical devices.

Philips has recently established a new brand strategy, which builds on the company's heritage of creating innovations that matter to people. The mission of the company is to improve people's lives through meaningful innovation and the new brand strategy emphasizes a clear orientation towards a more humancentered approach. The tagline 'innovation and you' conveys the brand promise of delivering meaningful solutions that matter to people. The new corporate brand positioning and identity was first introduced to Philips employees in order to convey the new brand strategy internally. The purpose of our research is to explore the role of visual materials in the organizational articulation of strategy. Graphic design emerged as a key element in the internal processes to articulate strategic intent at Philips and our findings suggest that design is not simply a medium or a tool that translates the strategy of the company in the end of a process of communication. Rather, design can be regarded as co-constitutive of the very own strategy it helps to implement. Graphic design is the principal translator of the corporate brand strategy, making it accessible and open to be interpreted in the different international offices of the corporation. Design outcomes become the materialization of the multinational strategic intent -a form of tangible strategy that can be interpreted, engaged with and build upon. Our research analyses and discusses these perspectives, devising broader implications from our case study setting.